Introduction
-
Clare McGlynn
Abstract
Women have had enough. They have been trained to minimise men’s harassment and intrusions into their daily lives. They have become accustomed to brushing off experiences that leave them feeling disturbed, uncomfortable and fearful for their or others’ safety. They have become habituated to being alert to the conduct of others, just in case: the stranger acting oddly on the train, the group of lads looking over, the man hanging around the shopping centre.
This is such an everyday aspect of life for so many that it has become taken for granted, almost unnoticed that women do this ‘safety work’ – managing their behaviour, routines, interactions, visibility and conduct in online and offline spaces – all to minimise the threat of men’s intrusions and abusive practices (Vera-Gray, 2016;Vera-Gray and Kelly, 2020). But now, more and more women are challenging men’s harassment and intrusions, and are seeking education, prevention and redress.
These challenges are now turning to the common practice of cyberflashing – where a man sends an unsolicited penis image to another, commonly a woman. Women experience it on the train, in the supermarket, queueing for coffee and in their everyday interactions online. For many this intrusion is an annoyance, an irritation, but perhaps something they should simply ‘shrug off’. But the significance and impacts of cyberflashing must not be minimised. It can also be experienced as violating, deeply disturbing and threatening: Why would someone send this? Who are they? What might happen next?
Abstract
Women have had enough. They have been trained to minimise men’s harassment and intrusions into their daily lives. They have become accustomed to brushing off experiences that leave them feeling disturbed, uncomfortable and fearful for their or others’ safety. They have become habituated to being alert to the conduct of others, just in case: the stranger acting oddly on the train, the group of lads looking over, the man hanging around the shopping centre.
This is such an everyday aspect of life for so many that it has become taken for granted, almost unnoticed that women do this ‘safety work’ – managing their behaviour, routines, interactions, visibility and conduct in online and offline spaces – all to minimise the threat of men’s intrusions and abusive practices (Vera-Gray, 2016;Vera-Gray and Kelly, 2020). But now, more and more women are challenging men’s harassment and intrusions, and are seeking education, prevention and redress.
These challenges are now turning to the common practice of cyberflashing – where a man sends an unsolicited penis image to another, commonly a woman. Women experience it on the train, in the supermarket, queueing for coffee and in their everyday interactions online. For many this intrusion is an annoyance, an irritation, but perhaps something they should simply ‘shrug off’. But the significance and impacts of cyberflashing must not be minimised. It can also be experienced as violating, deeply disturbing and threatening: Why would someone send this? Who are they? What might happen next?
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements iv
- Introduction 1
-
Recognising Cyberflashing
- Cyberflashing as a Sexual Intrusion: Nature, Extent and Motivations 11
- The Harms of Cyberflashing 37
-
Reforming the Criminal Law
- Justifying Criminalisation: Recognition, Redress and Justice 61
- Cyberflashing and the Limits of English Criminal Law 75
- Cyberflashing Laws: Comparative Perspectives 89
- Criminalising Cyberflashing: Recommendations for Law Reform 105
- References 129
- Index 153
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements iv
- Introduction 1
-
Recognising Cyberflashing
- Cyberflashing as a Sexual Intrusion: Nature, Extent and Motivations 11
- The Harms of Cyberflashing 37
-
Reforming the Criminal Law
- Justifying Criminalisation: Recognition, Redress and Justice 61
- Cyberflashing and the Limits of English Criminal Law 75
- Cyberflashing Laws: Comparative Perspectives 89
- Criminalising Cyberflashing: Recommendations for Law Reform 105
- References 129
- Index 153
